AGRANA confers promotion award for science and research at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
Date: 27.03.2026
Dr. Marianna Giancaterino and Dr. Henrique Rasera were honored yesterday at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, with the AGRANA Research Promotion Award
Dr. Giancaterino received the award for her research work on the use of electrotechnologies in the processing of agricultural commodities for food production. Technologies such as pulsed electrical fields and ohmic heating have long represented more sustainable approaches in the food industry and improve food safety and quality while also requiring less energy. Electrical fields promote material and heat transfers through the formation of pores in cell membranes despite the exact mechanism of action still being unexplained. Her study investigates how electrotechnologies influence the processing of fruit and vegetables and evaluates their potential.
Dr. Henrique Rasera Raniro, who was not able to accept the award in person, received the AGRANA award for her thesis on the added value of cover crops in mobilising soil-based phosphorus deposits. This work underlines the relevance of chemical processes in the soil in the interests of sustainable agriculture. Dr. Raniro’s research findings confirm the advantages of greater plant diversity as a means of improving the phosphorus cycle and identify cover crops as an effective means of sustainable phosphorus management.
“Our Research Promotion Award is a conscious effort to recognise the work of young scientists engaged in answering the key future-oriented questions related to food production,” stresses AGRANA COO Franz Ennser. “Both doctoral theses address an important challenge in the processing of agricultural commodities: improving processing efficiency and sustainability without negatively impacting product quality. This is also a central issue for AGRANA. Approaches such as those of Marianna Giancaterino and Henrique Rasera Raniro therefore fully align with our aim of optimising the usage of commodities and produce food more efficiently. As a result, their research makes a valuable contribution to achieving more sustainability along the entire value chain,” Ennser adds in closing.